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Wolfsong's Story: A Dark Path
Chapter 1 - Kithood "She's opened her eyes!" The familiar voice of a she-cat rang out softly through the nursery. Wolfkit gazed around, startled at how big the nursery was. Without sight, it seemed small and cozy. But when you took a look at it, it was huge. The voice called again. "Stoneclaw, Wolfkit's opened her eyes!" Wolfkit glanced up at her mother, the cat who was speaking. Frostflower had soft, light-green eyes and a light gray coloured pelt, with white ear tips and markings on her pelt. I wonder if I have green eyes, too? Wolfkit thought. Then, the small kit glanced at her flank. It was gray like her mother's, but a darker shade. Wolfkit felt two warm bodies press into her flank. She turned her head sideways to see her sister and two brothers batting a ball of moss back and forth. Minnowkit was laying on her side lazily, staring up at the ceiling of the nursery, absent mindedly batting the moss ball back to her brothers whenever it came to her. She mewed, "Frostflower, when can we leave the den to look at the camp?" Frostflower gave a sharp look at Minnowkit. "Like I said before, you three will have to wait until Wolfkit's ready," she replied. Reedkit stopped chasing the ball. "But she's opened her eyes! Now can we go?" Frostflower sighed. "When she's ready. And before she is, I want your father to take a look at her," Her gaze softened,"She has Stoneclaw's eyes." Wolfkit thought for a moment. She had never actually been visited by Stoneclaw before. Even though he was her father, Wolfkit had never even scented him before. "Shallowbreeze, could you go get Stoneclaw for me?" asked Frostflower. Then, her voice lowered, and Wolfkit had to strain her ears to hear it, "He's been avoiding visiting Wolfkit, so he always has some sort or excuse to not come see her." Her father had been avoiding her? How could that be? Did he not like her? Wolfkit turned her gaze towards the voice as another familiar cat spoke, "I'll see if I can find him." The speaker was a light brown she-cat with pretty light blue eyes and white chest fur. The cat padded out of the nursery with a flick of the tail. Wolfkit recognized Shallowbreeze because she was the cat who had helped take care of Wolfkit and her littermates. There were no other queens in the nursery, so Shallowbreeze offered to help Frostflower with her kits. The brambles rustled at the nursery enterance, and Shallowbreeze came stomping through the tunnel. "Your mate acts as if he's had ants in his pelt the whole day," she muttered to Frostflower before settling down to wash. The brambles rustled again, and a strong-looking tom cat padded in. He had a black pelt - not completely black, but a bit lighter - and cold-looking, ice-blue eyes. His whiskers stood out, white, in contrary to his dark pelt, and he had a patch of white fur around his left ear. The cat looked frusterated, and he sat down in front of Frostflower, his gaze resting softly on hers. "What is it?" he meowed. Wolfkit saw Frostflower flick her tail impatiently. "Your kit, that's what!" she half-growled, half-muttered, "Stop avoiding her!" Then, the silver she-cat pointed her muzzle in Wolfkit's direction. "Look, she has your eyes." Stoneclaw snorted and glared in Wolfkit's direction. She flinched at the hostility in his eyes. "Isn't she beautiful?" purred Frostflower. "I've seen better ..." muttered Stoneclaw, his nose only whiskers away from Wolfkit's. At this, Shallowbreeze stood up in front of Stoneclaw, gazing sternly into his eyes. "This is your kit you're talking about. Why must you act so strange around her?" she hissed, her claws unsheathed. Stoneclaw puffed out his chest and straightened his back. "If this is all you've got to show me ..." he said, shifting his gaze back to Frostflower. Suddenly, Reedkit jumped between his parents, eyes brightly focused on his father. "That's not all! Look what Pebblepaw taught me this morning!" He dropped into a crouching position, his teeth bared in a playful growl and tail sticking out like a twig. Minnowkit snickered. "When you become a warrior, I'll ask Shellstar if you can be named Twigtail!" Reedkit's gaze shifted towards his sister, and he pounced clumsily, knocking her into the dust. They rolled back and forth in a play battle. Stoneclaw rested his gaze on the two wrestling kits and sighed, "They'll become great warriors one day. Especially Reedkit." Splashkit stood up and bounded over to his father. "What about me, Stoneclaw?" he mewed, "And Wolfkit, too?" Stoneclaw licked Splashkit's head, eyes sparkling. "I'm sure you'll become a great WaterClan warrior," he replied. Stoneclaw never said I would become a great warrior. thought Wolfkit. "Well, I think you should get going now, Stoneclaw. I'm sure you could do something right for a change and join a patrol," mewed Shallowbreeze with an edge in her tone. Frostflower gave Shallowbreeze a sharp look as Stoneclaw padded out of the nursery, tail high. As soon as the brambles stopped rustling, Shallowbreeze shot up and faced Frostflower. "How can you put up with him?" she demanded, "He doesn't even care about you're youngest kit!" Frostflower stood up, her gaze matching Shallowbreeze's. "Mind your own business. I can take care of my own kits, thank you," she hissed, eyes burning. Then, Frostflower glanced back at her kits, who were all staring intently at the two arguing she-cats. "Go to sleep kits," she mewed softly, "I need to go out for a while, and I'll bring you a nice juicy vole from the fresh-kill pile when I get back." With that, she padded out of the nursery, flicking her tail along the way to call Shallowbreeze to follow her. Shallowbreeze narrowed her eyes and walked gingerly towards the den entrance. Once the two cats were gone, the four kits burst into conversation. "Who put ants in Shallowbreeze's pelt?" "Why were they fighting? And what are they doing now, outside of the den?" "I hope Frostflower keeps her word and brings back a vole!" Wolfkit settled down in her nest, her mind spinning from the recent argument. Stoneclaw didn't care about her? And why was he looking at her like that? A soft voice broke into Wolfkit's thoughts. "Are you okay, Wolfkit?" Splashkit mewed, padding over to her, "Stoneclaw was being kinda harsh towards you." "So I'm not the only one that noticed?" muttered Wolfkit bitterly, "It's like he thinks I'm invisible!" Splashkit rubbed his cheek against hers. "What does it matter what he thinks? He has bees in his brain, and I'm sure they'll clear up soon enough," he said. Wolfkit closed her eyes, wanting to sleep.'' I hope they clear up soon. I really hope they do''. Chapter 2 - Apprenticeship "This is a proud day for WaterClan." The voice of the red she-cat, Shellstar, rang out in the clearing as the gathered cats watched with sparkling eyes. "Wolfkit, from now on until you recieve your warrior name you shall be known as Wolfpaw," meowed Shellstar, "Spottedfeather, you are ready to have an apprentice. You will mentor Wolfpaw." A cream-coloured tom with orange spots padded up to Wolfpaw, touching his nose to hers. "I bet you'll be a great warrior," he murmured to her, eyes gleaming. "I'll try my best," she replied, touching his nose back. Then, the cats in the clearing broke out into applause, "Reedpaw! Minnowpaw! Splashpaw! Wolfpaw!" Frostflower bounded over to her four kits, and licking their heads each in turn. "I'm so proud of you all," she mewed, "Promise me you'll all try your best to become great warriors?" "We promise!" said the apprentices. As her mother padded away to join Shalowbreeze, Wolfpaw spotted Spottedfeather padding towards her. She turned around to greet him. "When can we start training?" she mewed excitedly. "We'll start off with looking around at the territory and the borders," he replied, glancing up at the sky, "It's sunhigh now, so we might not have enough time to scout the whole territory. We'll see. Oh, and do you want to go with your littermates?" he added, as Reedpaw, Minnowpaw, and Splashpaw bounced towards them, mentors at their heels. "We can't all ''go together; we'll be faster if we go four cats per group," noted Minnowpaw's mentor, a golden-brown she-cat called Sunpelt. Splashpaw's mentor, Nightshine, a black and silver she-cat, nodded, "Splashpaw and I will go with Wolfpaw and Spottedfeather. Minnowpaw and Sunpelt can go with Reedpaw and Mistfang." The four cats split up and headed for the tunnel entrance of the camp. When they got out into the forest, Minnowpaw and Reedpaw went one way, while Splashpaw ans Wolfpaw went the other. "I think first we can start off with the FireClan border, since it's the closest," said Nightshine. Spottedfeather gave a nod of approval, and followed her through the trees. Wolfpaw hurried to catch up with Splashpaw. "The forest is so big!" she mewed, wide-eyed. "I know! And we thought the camp was big!" he replied. Suddenly, Nightshine stopped. "Here it is, the border," she said, turning around to look at the apprentices. Wolfpaw stepped up to the river that marked the line between WaterClan territory and FireClan territory. The smooth, clear water rushed over the stones, spraying her nose and whiskers. "That's a lot of water!" came Splashpaw's wonderous mew from behind. Spotterfeather stepped up beside Wolfpaw. "Try not to get too close, or it's possible that you might fall in. You don't know how to swim yet," he warned. Wolfpaw looked at him, eyes shining. "When can we learn how to swim?" she asked. "Not yet," replied her mentor, "You'll still have to learn hunting and battle combat." After looking through most of the territoy, Spottedfeather noted that they only had left to visit the DarkClan border, which was where Reedpaw and Minnowpaw were going to meet them. So they headed towards the border. Soon enough, the air started to scent musky and rotting. Wolfpaw scrunched up her nose. "Ew!! What's that disgusting scent!" Splashpaw was also complaining about the smell. "Yeah, it smells like rotting fish!" Nightshine sighed. "Well, that's the scent of ShadowClan." she mewed, rolling her eyes. "They could sure learn to clean themselves once in a while!" As they padded on, Wolfpaw sensed the air become eerie and felt the fiery glare of eyes burning into her pelt. She froze in place, eyes wide with terror. The other cats stopped and look behind. "Wolfpaw? What's wrong-" Before Splashpaw could finish his sentence, there were loud screeches and the bushes around them bursted with fur. Wolfpaw felt heavy, long-clawed paws land on her shoulders, and she was pushed to the ground, all the air getting knocked out of her. She could hear her other three clanmates fighting around her, as she struggled to breathe. She tried arching her back to flip her opponent off her, but she was simply too small, and as soon as her enemy felt her move, he flattened her even more. Wolfpaw was losing conciousness. Every time she opened her mouth to gasp a breath of air, all she got was a pawful of fur. The last thing she heard was the yowl of Splashpaw calling her name in desperation, and as the horrid scent of ShadowClan melted around her, everything went black. Chapter 3 - Deep in Trouble "Scratch her again!" The searing pain of claws scored deep into the side of Wolfpaw's face. Her eyes flung open, now completely awake. Around her was a circle of cats. Everything was blurred, and her senses were groggy. "Get up!" came the rough comand of a tom cat. Wolfpaw knew the shout was directed to her. She slowly stood up, unsteady on her paws. She took a moment to focus on her surroundings before trying to speak. Wolfpaw racked her memory. Everything in her mind was foggy, not knowing where, who, or when she was. Then it hit her; the scent of ShadowClan. Her senses suddenly became alert, and everything turned clear. She was in a shady hollow with warriors standing around her, all shooting hostile and mocking glances at her. Then she noticed her clanmates. Spottedfeather was standing, giving Wolfpaw a deeply worried look. And there was Nightshine. Her eyes were focused on something beyond Wolfpaw's sight, something high up... And then she saw the light grey pelt of Splashpaw laying on the ground. Except it wasn't entirely grey. His fur was stained with a dark red, and he was laying motionless on the floor, eyes closed. Wolfpaw swore her heart skipped a beat. Or maybe two. "Splashpaw!!!" yowled Wolfpaw. She raced over to her brother, but was blocked by a large, muscular black tabby. Her eyes widened at she stared at the tom. He was ''huge, and his eyes were a cold, icy blue. He was glaring at her with burning eyes. "Sit." he said, in barely a whisper but with a frightening tone that made the air in the clearing extremely intense, and the wind and birds seemed to stop they're rythimic, calming sound to listen to the cold hiss of the ShadowClan cat. Trembling with fear, Wolfpaw stopped what she was doing and slowly sat down, eyes still focused on the tabby cat, just in case he decided to attack. Were all ShadowClan cats like this? Terrifyingly hostile, hissing every word that came out of their mouth with clenched teeth..? Always hostile between other cats and fur always raised in defense? "Thank you, Snakeshadow." came a female voice coming from the trees, hidden deep in the shadows. The tabby bowed his head, and walked away to join his clanmates in the shadows. Suddenly, the slick shape of a muscular, sleek she-cat slipped from the branches of a tree, barely distiguishable in the darkness. She walked right up to Wolfpaw, until she was nose-to-nose with her. Wolfpaw trembled violently, unable to control her fear. This must be the ShadowClan leader. "WaterClan cats." hissed the she-cat, "I can't stand them." She turned her tail on Wolfpaw's clanmates, and jumped onto a low branch, gazing upon all the cats in the hollow. "Yewstar." mewed Nightshine with hostile eyes. "It's been a long time." Yewstar glared at Nightshine with triumph. "Yes, Nightshine. It certainly has. And I've finally caught you." Wolfpaw was confused. What did the two she-cats mean? Nightshine gave a vicious hiss towards the ShadowClan leader. "What do you want with my clanmates?" Yewstar brought her paw to her mouth and began to wash herself, taking her time. She gave her tail a little flick, and settled down on her branch, tail swaying back and forth and amber eyes gleaming mischeivously at the WaterClan cats. "Oh, I don't want anything to do with your clanmates. It's you I want to hurt." She looked at Snakeshadow, giving a nod of her head. She black tabby immediately stood on his paws, dashing over to the WaterClan cats' sides, along with two other cats. The three cats lunged at Wolfpaw and her clanmates, strangling them. Wolpaw gagged, eyes widening in horror. However, Nightshine was left unharmed, eyes wide in terror as she watched her clanmates. "And what could ever be a better punishment than watching your clanmates die?" snarled Yewstar, eyes burning. "No!" screeched Nightshine, as she pounced up to the branch in one leap where Yewstar was watching with amusement. The ShadowClan leader's gaze turned from pleasure to astonishment as she got knocked off her tree by Splashpaw's mentor. The two she-cats fell to the ground in a flurry of fur and claws, rolling on the ground in a cloud of dust. The cats that were holding Wolfpaw's clanmates lept away to pull the she-cats apart. As soon as she was let go, Wolfpaw ran over to Splashpaw's side, who was laying on the ground, a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth. "Splashpaw!" shouted Wolfpaw, shaking him with her paws. "Splashpaw! Please, wake up! Splashpaw!" Wolfpaw began to tremble all over as tears swelled in her eyes. "Splashpaw..." "Kill me instead! I can't let you take the lives of my clanmates..." The begging mew made Wolfpaw turn around. Nightshine was panting on the ground, defeated by the four ShadowClan cats. She stared pleadingly up at Yewstar, a desperate tone in her voice. Yewstar's eyes shone with amusement. "Oh, are you begging, now? You, the sister whom everyone loved more? The one who shone with pride, acted like a hero, a noble, brave, cat, even though you were none of those!" spat Yewstar, screeching the last three words. Wolfpaw froze. ''Sisters? '' Yewstar began to sob silently, and the whole clearing became silent. Nightshine slowly stood up, to face Yewstar with a caring expression, resting her head on the ShadowClan leader's. "I know I acted wrongly," mewed Nightshine softly, barely audible to the rest of the cats, "but you were always my best friend. I still love you." The silence was filled by Yewstar's soft cries. "Everyone always thought you were perfect. Gifted." she mewed. "I was only your shadow. Even if I caught the bigger squirrel, our parents always congratulated you while they told me I could do better. You could have done something, but you didn't." Nightshine's gaze rested on the floor. "You don't think I wish I could change the past?" she whispered. Wolfpaw was frozen by the whole scene. It was all so confusing. "But now, I'll Category:Fanfiction